Local Blogs

About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add... (More)

About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in addition to writing editorials for more than 15 years. I have served as a director of many non-profits in the Valley and the broader Bay Area and currently serve as chair of Teen Esteem and on the advisory board of Shepherd?s Gate. I also served as founding chair of Heart for Africa and have travelled to Africa seven times to serve on mission trips. My wife, Betty Gail, has taught at Amador Valley High (from where we both graduated) since 1981. She and I both graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, as did both of my parents and my three siblings. Given that Cal tradition, our daughter went south to the University of Southern California and graduated with a degree in international relations. Since graduation, she has taken three mission trips and will be serving in the Philippines for nine months starting in September. (Hide)

Local beef steaks headed to China

Uploaded: Jun 22, 2017

Local ranchers are cheering the progress the Trump Administration has made with China in terms of trade.
Chatting with long-time Tassajara Valley rancher Gordon Rasmussen, he was excited about finally getting to export beef to China. The agreement grew out of the summit meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Wilbur Ross, Trump’s Commerce Secretary, told a Wall Street Journal forum that it has taken less than 100 days for the doors to China to open to U.S. beef producers. They had been working on it for 14 years.
That’s great news for Gordon and his fellow California ranchers. This is one time that being located on the Left Coast will be a great advantage. Gordon has worked with Harris Ranch for years.

Watching the Morning News on KTVU, traffic reporter Sal Castaneda was discussing with weatherman Steve Paulson about when the summer was going to take hold and traffic lessen. I attended an 8 a.m. meeting downtown Monday—a time that I can easily wait 10 minutes to get across Sunol Boulevard and there was basically no traffic—it looked like a Friday. It was similar when I was out a bit earlier on Wednesday.
Looking at the traffic maps, Tuesday was much different. What’s interesting is how the shift in school calendars has affected vacation areas. We were in Lake Almanor two years ago in late August and it was amazingly quiet. Families had gone back home to go back to school.
Many moons ago when I was in school, we never started classes before Labor Day. Now most districts have two or three weeks of regular classes before the holiday that traditionally brought summer to an end. For summer-based businesses at resort areas like Lake Tahoe, it has shifted the season earlier, but cost people two to three weeks of ideal weather.
Where once you might stay away until after Labor Day, the last two weeks of August now offer prime weather with fewer people. Given how much snow is still in the high country (20 feet at Mammoth Meadows which plans to stay open for skiing into August; Squaw Valley is planning on July 4th), it may be September before you want to brave Lake Tahoe to swim. Just how hot is it today. So hot that the Alameda County Fair, for the first time, cancelled its horse racing card to protect the jockeys and the horses.
Out at Callippe Preserve golf course, there were just 52 players by mid-day. A typical weekday seems about 200. Temps near 100 degrees at midday encouraged golfers to stay inside and stay cool.

Posted by Michael Austin,
a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Jun 23, 2017 at 7:44 pmMichael Austin is a registered user.

I lived and worked in Asia during 80's -90's. Commuted between Tokyo and Beijing.
The best beef steak I have ever eaten was roof top restaurant, world trade center in central Beijing business district.